Glad I saw these. I showed some of my mates around the block and they were all quite impressed by the level of soldiering shown by the blokes involved in these and the other footage I found on the site.

I do get asked quite often if Australia was in the war if I mention something about the Australian Army in Vietnam. I wonder how many kids back home understand what the Vietnam war was like for the Australians, the bulk of their education of it coming from films like Platoon and Forrest Gump, as well as the ever popular documentrys about American incompetence in South East Asia.

I've had the absolute pleasure of meeting many of the blokes interviewed in the second Documentary on Long Tan, to a man modest, humble and consumate professionals even all these years on.

Long Tan is real Rorke's Drift stuff, 120 Australian soldiers standing toe to toe with a well-equipped, well-armed and disciplined NVA Regiment and VC irregulars numbering some 2500. Hung on by the skin of their teeth, saved by accurate Artillery, personal discipline and the cavalry arriving at dusk. Stuff of legends.

On the 40th anniversary they had a fantastic service in Canberra, Capt. Mori Stanley, the FO from the battle stood at the mike and called in arty, down the end of ANZAC Parade a battery of guns began firing, check fired as a pair of UH-1 Iroquous flew in to simulate the ammunition resupply, then fired again until a troop of M113's tore up the parade, while one of the platoon commanders from the battle read the names of the dead.

And half these guys, including most of the subbies were national servicemen.